Register to thwart relentless tele-pests

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Growing community anger at harassing calls from telemarketers
will today prompt the Federal Government to unveil plans to
introduce a Do Not Call register.

State governments and outraged consumers have been pressing the
Commonwealth to act against unwanted, often overseas-based
callers.

Federal Communications Minister Helen Coonan will propose a
model that allows consumers to opt out of receiving the
telemarketing calls, with fines of thousands of dollars imposed on
companies that don't respect the public's wishes.

The favoured model would also cover overseas telemarketers - the
international army of irritating callers who are growing by the
month - who ring on behalf of Australian companies.

The register will be policed by the Australian Communications
and Media Authority.

Prepared after months of pressure from consumer groups and the
telemarketing industry itself, the discussion paper will also
advocate imposing minimum standards of operation on companies that
make the unsolicited phone calls.

For instance, they would be restricted to certain hours within
which staff could make their calls.

Senator Coonan will seek the co-operation of the telemarketing
industry, which employs 700,000 people and is fearful of job
losses.

The announcement comes just 24 hours before Victorian Labor MP
Anna Burke introduces a Private Member's Bill into Federal
Parliament to establish a Do Not Call register.

Ms Burke said it was "about bloody time" the Government took
action on what had become the bugbear of people's lives.

She said gripes about telemarketers ringing people at
inappropriate times were the greatest source of complaints from her
constituents.

The record was held by a young mum with a teething 10-month-old;
she received 16 calls in just half a day.